Tom Roach’s Heavenly Angel Food Cake

Sift and measure flour. Add a third of the sugar and sift together three times. (M.C. prefers 1 1⁄4 cups granulated sugar to 1 1⁄2 cups superfine sugar, which she feels makes the cake too sweet. She sifts the flour by itself and adds sugar directly to the egg whites.)

Place into a large mixing bowl the egg whites, 2 tbsp. cold water, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt—yes, all at once! Whip until barely stiff enough to hold a peak when the beater is lifted, but not dry. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 2 or 3 tbsp. at a time, whipping gently after each of the first few additions, then folding rather than beating towards the end. (M.C. sprinkles the sugar into the whites in four parts as she beats, until the whites are shiny and hold soft peaks.)

Add the sifted flour and sugar, 3 or 4 tbsp. at a time, and fold gently until smooth after each addition. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10 tube pan and bake in a preheated 325° oven about 1 hour. (M.C. sifts the flour into the egg whites as she's folding it in.)

Invert cake and cool completely before removing from pan. (M.C.: Or invert the pan on a bottle until cake cools.)